Intrafamily Resource Allocations: A Dynamic Model of Birth Weight

64 Pages Posted: 6 Oct 2008

See all articles by Emilia Del Bono

Emilia Del Bono

Institute for Social and Economic Research; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

John Ermisch

University of Oxford; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Marco Francesconi

University of Essex; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

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Abstract

This paper estimates a model of dynamic intrahousehold investment behavior which incorporates family fixed effects and child endowment heterogeneity. This framework is applied to large American and British survey data on birth outcomes, with focus on the effects of antenatal parental smoking and maternal labor supply net of other maternal behavior and child characteristics. We find that maternal smoking during pregnancy reduces birth weight and fetal growth, while paternal smoking has virtually no effect. Mothers' work interruptions of up to two months before birth have a positive effect on birth outcomes, especially among British children. Parental behavior appears to respond to permanent family-specific unobservables and to child idiosyncratic endowments in a way that suggests that parents have equal concerns, rather than efficiency motives, in allocating their prenatal inputs across children. Evidence of equal concerns emerges also from the analysis of breastfeeding decisions, although the effects in this case are weaker.

Keywords: birth outcomes, smoking, mother's work, sibling estimators, instrumental variables, child health production functions

JEL Classification: C33, D13, I12, J13

Suggested Citation

Del Bono, Emilia and Ermisch, John F. and Francesconi, Marco, Intrafamily Resource Allocations: A Dynamic Model of Birth Weight. IZA Discussion Paper No. 3704, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1278904 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1278904

Emilia Del Bono (Contact Author)

Institute for Social and Economic Research ( email )

Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/staff/staff-details.php?personID=678

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

John F. Ermisch

University of Oxford ( email )

Manor Road
Oxford, OX2
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Marco Francesconi

University of Essex ( email )

Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom
+44 1206 873 534 (Phone)
+44 1206 873 151 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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